Devon Spalding has been one of college football's fastest-rising assistant coaches for much of the past decade.
He's on the cusp of yet another big move, sources have told FootballScoop.
Spalding, running backs coach in Luke Fickell's Wisconsin Badgers program the past three seasons, is being targeted to join Pat Fitzgerald's inaugural Michigan State Spartans staff, sources told FootballScoop on Monday.
Fitzgerald was hired earlier this month to take over at Michigan State for the fired Jonathan Smith. It's his return to Big Ten football following a three-year hiatus after he was dismissed from Northwestern amidst much controversy and later sued the school, winning a landmark case.
For Spalding, it's more or less a chance to return to his roots. He's a Canton, Michigan, native who played collegiately at Central Michigan before he embarked on his coaching career.
He coached a season under Fickell at Cincinnati in 2019 as a graduate assistant for the Bearcats before he nabbed his first full-time assistant coaching gig. That was at tradition-rich Football Championship Subdivision program Youngstown State, where Spalding coached running backs for three seasons.
From there, he was hired into Fickell's Wisconsin program and spent the past three seasons in Madison, Wisconsin, coaching Badgers running backs.
HIs brother, Dom, is a quality control coach in Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame Fighting Irish program.
For Devon Spalding, it's a chance to work with incoming offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan, considered one of the sport's top, young offensive coaches. Fitzgerald is hiring Sheridan away from Alabama. The Crimson Tide remain alive in the College Football Playoff; they face top-seeded Indiana this week in the Rose Bowl.